Peter Kay’s big gig at Manchester’s new Co-op Live arena has been cancelled, just hours before the comedian was due to take to the stage.
The comedian’s second show at the venue on Wednesday night was also canceled.
The long-awaited show was due to take place on Tuesday in a 23,500-capacity venue and would have been the main opening of the city’s new landmark, the largest in the UK.
But just one day before the show was scheduled to take place, it was announced that both shows were canceled and work has not yet been completed at the Eastlands venue. The council’s building control has not yet given approval for the building.
Co-op Live has confirmed that both shows will be rescheduled and will instead take place on April 29 and 30.
Peter Kay’s big gig at Manchester’s new Co-op Live arena has been cancelled, just hours before the comedian was due to take to the stage.
A Co-op Live spokesperson said: “Following our first test event on Saturday, we have unfortunately made the difficult decision to reschedule our two initial Peter Kay performances.
‘These dates will go from Wednesday, April 23 and 24 to Monday, April 29 and Tuesday, April 30.
‘It is essential to ensure we have a constant full power supply for our all-electric sustainable precinct, which is a few days behind schedule for completion. Rescheduling gives us the additional time we need to continue conducting extensive testing.
‘This is vital to satisfy the rigorous set of guidelines and protocols that are necessary for a venue of this size.
‘Peter Kay has very kindly agreed to perform his record-breaking comedy at Co-op Live on 29th (rescheduled from 23rd) and 30th (rescheduled from 24th) April 2024.
‘All tickets remain valid and ticket holders will be contacted at their point of purchase. Refunds will be available for those who can no longer attend.
‘We are very sorry for the inconvenience this change will undoubtedly cause to some.
“We are delighted to welcome Peter Kay as our grand opening act just a few days later than planned.”
Peter Kay said: “I’m really gutted because I know how disappointing this will be for everyone who has tickets, but it’s obviously a new venue and it’s important that everything is finished and safe for the public at full capacity.”
“Luckily, we’ve been able to reschedule the shows for next week (I’ll have to miss my Bums & Tums class), but I hope to see you then.”
Co-op Live added: “We are looking forward to welcoming fans to Co-op Live for our official grand opening events with Peter Kay and showcasing the best of Co-op Live.
“We will continue to perform The Black Keys on April 27 in the lower stadium with 10,000 fans as planned, and we will continue to test the resilience of the venue and its operations.”
This comes after problems with the power supply at the site, which are believed to have affected fire safety and emergency services communication systems, led to bosses reducing attendance from around 11,000 to 4,000 to Saturday night’s test event, less than two hours ahead of schedule. begin.
Insiders claimed that “everything was working down to the last detail” ahead of the test show starring Rick Astley.
Manchester City Council’s building control department cannot issue a completion certificate while work is still ongoing at the site, which is understood to include walkways and wiring.
The venue could still operate without this certificate after presenting council bosses with a mitigation strategy to manage potential risks, although details of this plan have not been made public.
Previously, Co-op Live bosses said teams were on site “doing everything they can” to prepare for the venue’s grand opening.
A Co-op Live spokesperson said: ‘Opening a venue of this size requires working very closely with multiple stakeholders and responsible authorities to adhere to a rigorous set of guidelines and protocols.
‘Prior to our test event, some systems had limited electrical power which we were only able to mitigate by reducing capacity.
This meant we made the difficult decision to reduce the capacity of our test event and we deeply regret the impact this had on our guests.
‘We recognize that many people were inconvenienced yesterday afternoon at very short notice and we apologize to all those affected.
“We are working hard to complete Co-op Live and look forward to welcoming fans and artists to the venue soon.”